斯巴鲁的另类生存?（节选）

    按通常标准看，斯巴鲁（Subaru）在美国汽车市场上只不过是个让人不会在第一时间想到的品牌。它一共只有7款车型和酷越车，仅占美国汽车销售总额的2.3%。光是丰田凯美瑞（Toyota Camry）的销量就超过斯巴鲁全系车型。多年来，斯巴鲁只能算是个区域性品牌——在美国东北部和西北部卖得不错，在其他地方就默默无闻了。斯巴鲁从来没有品尝过一夜成名的滋味。44年前，斯巴鲁美国公司——富士重工（Fuji Heavy Industries）的美国子公司就开始卖车了，但迄今其销售规模在美国仍仅列第12位。而进入美国市场比它完了20年的现代（Hyundai）与起亚（Kia）却开发了更丰富的产品线，销量已经是斯巴鲁的好几倍。

    但是，在车辆品质与安全性方面，独立评论者对斯巴鲁的肯定高于任何其它厂商。《消费者报告》（Consumer Reports）的评测认为，在性能、舒适性、实用性和可靠性方面，斯巴鲁超过包括奔驰（Mercedes-Benz）、宝马（BMW）在内的任何车企，并称斯巴鲁的车是全美最棒的。二手车残值与价格专业测评机构ALG（前Automotive Lease Guide）认为，斯巴鲁的车是主流品牌中残值最高的。高速公路安全保险协会（Insurance Institute for Highway Safety）在经过碰撞试验后提出，斯巴鲁是所有被测车型中“安全首选车型”，这可是没有哪家车企能自我标榜的殊荣。

    今年以来，受到这三重佳绩的推动，经销商处的斯巴鲁几乎是有多少卖多少。尽管长期库存不足，斯巴鲁还是开始稳步打破月度销售记录，今年的销量比去年增长了26%——几乎是行业整体增长率（14%）的一倍。飓风“桑迪”正好袭击了斯巴鲁的核心客户群所在地，但10月该公司的销售额照样猛增30%，而全行业的增长率仅有7%。

    斯巴鲁使自己跻身一线车企的努力可以称之为“精工细作”——专心致志、注重个性，特别精于某些方面。凭借有限的资源，斯巴鲁精明地在全时四驱这类性能上大胆投入，开发了使之从竞争中脱颖而出的营销手段与广告，而且比任何对手都更了解自己的客户。通过在地域、生活方式，甚至有时候是性取向上吸引客户，斯巴鲁在业内建立了最深厚的忠诚度。这家公司非常有自知之明，因此多年来它的广告语总是那句自我指涉的表达：“这就是斯巴鲁。（It's what makes a Subaru, a Subaru.）”

    斯巴鲁这个品牌极具魅力，因此公司成功将其用于多个完全不同的车型。本年度最畅销的车型是紧凑型翼豹（Impreza）轿车和掀背车。凭借全新的设计，不足18,000美元的起价，众多年轻家庭和首次购车者排着队购买，都想充分领略它更好的燃油经济性，时尚的造型和宽敞的内部空间。销售额比去年翻番，经销商的库存不够卖两周的。在与功能性相对的另一端则是斯巴鲁另一款炙手可热的全新跑车——BRZ。作为对经典跑车的现代诠释，这款四座轿跑的造型不同寻常，操控充满赛道感，对中年男性来说魅力非凡。因此，许多人纷纷出手，把这辆起价为25,000美元的车开回了家，以至于9月初当天的新车供应量很快就只剩下11辆。斯巴鲁，

    By the usual measurements, Subaru should be no more than an afterthought in the U.S. car market. It sells just seven car and crossover models and accounts for a slim 2.3% of U.S. auto sales. By itself, the Toyota Camry outsells the entire Subaru lineup. For years Subaru has been essentially a regional brand -- strong in the Northeast and Northwest but unknown in the rest of the country. No overnight success, Subaru of America -- the U.S. arm of Japan's Fuji Heavy Industries -- began selling cars in the U.S. 44 years ago and still ranks only 12th in size. Hyundai and Kia, which arrived two decades later, have developed broader product lines and sell several times more vehicles.

    Yet Subaru has racked up more endorsements by independent arbiters of automotive quality and safety than just about any other manufacturer. Consumer Reports rates Subaru above Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and every other manufacturer in performance, comfort, utility, and reliability, and says the company makes the best cars in America. ALG (formerly Automotive Lease Guide), the industry's arbiter of residual value and used-car prices, named Subaru the leader in retained value among mainstream brands. And after crash tests, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety made Subaru a "top safety pick" across its entire product line, a distinction no other manufacturer can claim.

    Fueled by this trifecta of achievements, just about everything Subaru sells is flying off dealers' lots this year. Despite a chronic shortage of inventory, the company has been breaking monthly sales records with regularity, and sales for the year are up 26% compared with last year's -- nearly double the 14% gain for the industry as a whole. Hurricane Sandy struck right in the heart of Subaru's customer base, yet the little car company saw sales jump 30% in October, vs. the industry's 7%.

    What Subaru has done is to make itself into the first automaker that could be described as "artisanal" -- focused, individualistic, and really good at a very few things. With only limited resources, Subaru has made smart bets on features like all-wheel drive, developed memorable marketing and advertising that set it apart from the competition, and learned more about its customers than any other automaker. In appealing to them by geography, lifestyle, and, at times, sexual orientation, it has built the deepest loyalty in the car business. The company understands itself so well that for years its advertising tag line was the self-referential "It's what makes a Subaru, a Subaru."

    So resilient is the appeal of its brand name that Subaru has managed the feat of stretching it over wildly different models. One of this year's fastest-selling cars has been Subaru's compact Impreza sedan and hatchback. Newly redesigned and with a base price under $18,000, it has young families and first-time buyers queuing up to take advantage of its improved fuel economy, updated styling, and roomier interior. Sales have doubled from a year ago, and dealers have less than a two-week supply. At the opposite end of the functionality spectrum is another red-hot seller, the Subaru BRZ. A modern interpretation of the classic sports car, the two-plus-two coupe features out-there styling and racetrack handling that appeal to men of a certain age. So many are going out the door at prices starting at $25,000 that the days' supply at the beginning of September had shrunk to 11.